The provisional 'Introduction to The Skills of Well-being Classroom Handbook 2007' (written by Nick Baylis and Ian Morris) which is presently seeking a major educational publisher for the UK and overseas.

'The Skills of Well-being'
and how to improve our relationship with life

A practical handbook for use in the classroom,
that guides teachers and school students
through the essentials of all-round good health:
psychological, physical and social.

An introduction
by
Dr Nick Baylis, University of Cambridge

Provisional wording being trialed in September 2006


An Introduction to
the Science, Art & Craft of Well-being
There is no of-the-shelf, vacuum-sealed definition of the newly emerging science of well-being. But here's one route to explaining it:

The Science of Well-being is a newly emerging field that looks at our Relationship with Life, and wonders how we might improve this by studying lives that go particularly well - by which we mean profoundly rewarding lives that are healthy, helpful and good-hearted.

The underpinning question is "How can we lead our life… our psychological, physical and social life… in a way that is not only good for you and me as individuals, but also good for the people for whom we care, and among whom we live and work."

In short, how can we be the sort of person who makes a really positive difference to whatever we're a part of?


The meaning of the term 'well-being'
In 1948, the founders of the World Health Organisation defined health as "physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

By doing so, they made two clear statements:

What does this scientific field include under its umbrella?
This new field includes such subjects as psychological, social, and physical good-health, as well as understanding how we can better achieve expertise and high-performance, beauty in all its forms, thriving in the face of adversity, and living in harmony with the natural environment. This emerging field launched itself with a three-day conference hosted by the Royal Society of London in 2003, and is now represented by the newly formed Well-being Institute at the University of Cambridge. (www.CambridgeWellbeing.org)

The science aspires to incorporate beneath its flag all and any disciplines which can shed sunlight on how we can help life to thrive and flourish for individuals and families, communities and nations. Hence, there is a role for the likes of Positive Psychology, Technology, Medicine, Architecture, Sociology and Economics, The Arts, and Humanities.

Because it's not only a scientific approach we need for the study of well-being. The surveys and experiments aren't enough. We also need the know-how and insights from the creative arts and humanities and every discipline that can explore and portray how positively human life can be led…because living life is an infinitely interwoven process.

In respect of which, our approach needs to be profoundly integrated and holistic if we're to see the bigger picture of how a life works well, because it's for good reason that the word 'health' comes from the old English meaning 'wholeness', and the verb 'to heal' means 'to make whole'. Thinking and behaving holistically like this brings great benefits. It's the very same principle that allows the effects of one vitamin to be enhanced if it can work in synergy with all the other vitamins.


The science of well-being does not ignore ill-health
As part and parcel of the investigation of vigorously good health, we need to compare and contrast the 'poor health' examples with the 'excellent health' examples, so that we can more readily see, brightly and clearly, the defining characteristics of exceptionally good health.

In other words, we need to bring together our understanding of the 'troubles' with an understanding of the 'triumphs.'

And it's not just for the purpose of making comparisons, that we need to keep 'poor health' in our sights. Sometimes, to make progress to a higher level of 'good health', we will need to free ourselves from some inhibiting problem, and this will require the awareness and know-how to deal with such problems. For example, to go from 'average health' in my approach to personal relationships, to 'well-above average', I might need to unshackle my mind and body from a long-ago emotional trauma that inhibits my friendliness and ability to trust. In this case, to make progress I'll need not only to understand trauma but also know something of how it can be resolved.

So it is that this handbook on 'The Skills of Well-being' offers introductory lessons on overcoming shyness, transforming aggression, coping with bereavement, and recognising psychosomatic illness, in among the lessons that seek to foster esprit de corps, nurture friendship, encourage mentorship, and build self-confidence. In short, an appreciation of ill-health can complement our understanding of excellent health, and vice-versa.


How is this science of well-being different from what's gone before?
At present, and for very many years, the vast majority of work in the fields of psychology and medicine are trying to help people back from 'poor health' to 'average health'. By contrast, someone doing well-being science is trying to help people progress from 'average health' to 'well above average health'…and any gain in our understanding of how to improve cases of ill-health, is an intentional and welcome byproduct of this investigation, rather than its primary goal. Understanding 'beautiful health' is the primary goal of well-being science.